Obedient to the Opportunities
The last thing on my mind was being obedient. It had been a long day in the office, followed by a stop at the doctor’s office with a sick kid. It was one of those days when talking with everyone I knew in Walmart was low on my priority list. All I wanted was a few groceries. Lunches needed to be packed for the morning, and frozen pizza could only be served for dinner so many nights a week. I must have had the same idea as everyone else because I was seeing everyone I knew. I waved hello to a girl from high school, nodded at the sister of a friend, helped a stranger find what she was looking for, and said hello to a guy who used to go to our church that I hadn’t seen in a couple of years. As I finished up shopping, the guilt started to set in. I felt guilt because I felt like I should have remembered his name. I should have had something to say that would have reminded him he was welcome in our church. But instead, I was busy. I even got in line behind him in the check-out, incidentally. Then out of nowhere, he said: “Have a good night, Pastor Nick…” I just replied “you too” still not remembering his name. And then the check-out girl spoke up. “Where’s your church?” There it was – the opportunity. I proceeded to share about The Village. Long story short, she ended up coming to church that week. It was a great conversation. She’s moved many times and felt judged as a visitor at many churches, but she felt pretty comfortable talking to me. She even seemed excited! I wonder if I slowed life down enough and really took a look around for opportunities, how many people in that Walmart just needed an invite? How many just needed to know the truth about Jesus and how He was for them and not against them? How many could we reach if I was just obedient to the opportunities God put in front of me? Maybe it’s time to slow down and pay attention. Look for those opportunities and take action. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. – Colossians 4:3
It Looked Easy
Recently I left on our annual CIY Move Student Conference trip for the 16th time in my life. Five times I attended as a student in Carbondale, Illinois, once as an intern in Anderson, Indiana, a half dozen in Michigan at the beautiful Hope College as the youth pastor, another few in Cedarville, Ohio. This was the first of what I would guess to be many, a trip to Wheaton College just an hour from home. All the while, my relationship with CIY has changed. As a student, I looked at friends who weathered God’s grace by my side. I dreamt of staying longer in those college dorm rooms, playing games in the rec center at 3 before attending dinner at 6, starting worship by 7 and ending our night reviewing all God had done with my new found closest friends from church. It looked easy. We’d still be there today if given the option at 16 years old. Because in those moments we had everything we’d ever needed. We had found so much more in our infant relationships with God than we ever expected when we left. Then We Went Home Then it was time to leave the conference and head home. For some of those friends, they’ll never go back. As a youth pastor, there have been moments that it seemed as though the only progress God made in the lives of students came when I entrusted them to the leadership of the Christ in Youth staff. As a ministry, we would work, call, fundraise and plead to get students to attend. We would feel that this was our only shot for students to experience God’s love in a tangible way. At other times, if I’m being honest, I’ve poured out the same amount of effort only to have students return looking at me as puzzled as to who God is and what He’s done as the day we left. In those moments I scoured the internet and student ministry contacts hoping for a better option. Like an unhappy consumer review, I was ready to run out the door and take my business elsewhere. I’ve Never Left I suppose you could say I’ve mellowed or matured. I no longer find myself shook by the trip attendance or the financing of how we will get there. My dependence on the CIY staff and content has subsided. Instead I’ve found assurance in the team of adults we bring along with us. Our team, our student ministry family, serves students through prayer and patience while bridging the gap between stage and seat, gospel and heart. I love our team and I love our students. I love CIY Move and the opportunity it provides, and at 16 years old, I thought it looked easy. Load a bus, drive, listen, laugh, hug, cry, and repeat. But “ignorance isn’t a virtue” and my eyes are open wide to the truth that none of this is easy. Life change, or salvation, came on the back of the perfect Jesus when he went to the cross for our sin and shame and was resurrected to new life making a way for all of us to have the same. And now, Jesus himself has seen fit to entrust such responsibility of communicating this good news through the likes of youth pastors like me, volunteers like Jerry, Brittany, and Tim, moms like Jill, and student interns like Adi and Bryce, and probably even you. It’s not easy; “He who knew no sin became sin” -2 Corinthians 5:21 “He humbled himself, becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross.” – Philippians 2:8 but it’s worth it! Praise God for all those he saved at CIY Move and all those He will continue to work on in Pulse Student Ministry!